Sightline
by Jamfase
Summary: You don't have to like someone to know them. When Riku is unwillingly placed in cocommand of a group with an equally unwilling partner, he finds himself facing his past, his future, and the truth of only knowing one perspective. [AU, LeonRiku]
1. Good Morning Star

Author's Notes:

Heya! This is Jamfase, here with an offering for you all. I wasn't initially going to post this until I managed to figure out some things (like what in the world I was trying to portray with this) but I think that I'm basically as ready as I'm going to get…for now at least. That being said, a few points of notice: This story will portray both homosexual and heterosexual relationships; if either offends you're free to stay clear. When you're done reading, please take the time to review…I'd love to continue this story, but feedback is unfortunately a must for that to happen- feeling as if you're writing to a black hole isn't really all that encouraging. And finally, _I do not in any way lay claim to these characters or the Kingdom Hearts franchise. __**

* * *

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**_Sightline_**

**chapter I: good morning star**

_Knock. Knock._

Riku groaned sleepily as he turned over, further entangling himself within the plain white sheets of his bed. God, it was too early…

Whoever was behind the door seemed to disagree, however, as the knocking that was disturbing Riku from his slumber continued, getting increasingly louder. Riku tried to filter out the noise by burying his head under a pillow.

The knocking stopped. Riku murmured some sort of sleepy approval and turned over again.

A few minutes passed. Riku was half-listening to the soft 'tick tock' of the old-fashioned alarm clock that stood on the dresser across the room, each tick bringing on another wave of sleepy oblivion. Riku was just about to slip away again when a small beep ensued and the door banged open.

"Riku Okada!" A cheery, sugar-sweet voice called. "It is time to _wake up_!"

The sheets were then grabbed from Riku's body and thrown asde. Riku flinched as he blearily opened one eye—all the lights had been turned on to full strength.

"It's too early," he mumbled, throwing one arm over his face. "Come back in an hour, alright?"

"Riku," the voice said patiently, "It's one in the afternoon."

Riku, who was opening his mouth to retort, paused. "You serious?"

"Yes. Now get up!"

"Right…" Riku yawned, rubbing his eyes lazily as he sat upright. "Getting up. But before that…who am I talking to?"

"RIKU!"

"Ah," Riku said calmly, recognizing the affronted tone in his companion's voice somewhere in his half-asleep mind. "Sorry, Selphie…"

"I can't believe you'd forget who I am! After that, I'm not even going to bother to apologize for what I had to do to your door to get in here!" Selphie stormed, crossing her arms in annoyance. Or so Riku imagined she was doing. He couldn't be positive, as he hadn't managed to open his eyes just yet.

"Look, Selphie, I'm sor…," Riku paused, rewinding what Selphie had just said. "Wait. What did you do to my door?"

"I broke it," came the flat reply.

"…You broke it. Exactly _how_ did you break it? I didn't hear anything…"

"I detached the hinges. And I disabled the security check."

"…that was the 'beep' that I heard right before you came bouncing in?"

"You've just contradicted yourself, but I would assume so. And I'd visit Marluxia later if you have the chance. He might have something to undo part of the damage," the brown-haired girl commented mildly. Riku groaned. By this point he was awake, but he firmly kept his eyes closed.

"You went to that plant-wielding maniac just so you could _wake me up_, Selphie?"

"No," she said easily. "But you could put it that way, yes."

Riku sighed. "Fine. Just fine. Which formula…breed… did he give you?"

Selphie shrugged, seemingly unconcerned. "I didn't ask. Just said I needed to get in and you weren't opening up. I'd guess it's something new, though. I'd remember those flowers if I'd seen them before."

Riku finally dropped his hand from his eyes, blinked to adjust to the light, then glanced at the door. He groaned again. The door's hinges had been completely de-attached from the door itself, connected only by a mass of black vines and violently purple flowers.

"Next time, Selphie, just knock louder, alright?" Riku requested. "And I'd better find a new door here and those flowers gone by tonight, or I will know exactly who to go after."

Selphie stuck her tongue out at him. "Meanie."

"Reasonable," Riku countered easily. He stood, stretching out his limbs carefully one by one. He made his way over to the dresser, not bothered by the fact that Selphie was there and he was only wearing his boxers. "So what is it that you want, aside from destroying my door and waking me up?"

"I'll tell you once you're dressed," she giggled, sitting cross legged on his bed and watching him.

He glanced at her, one eyebrow raised. "You're welcome?" he ventured, having a reasonable guess of what she was enjoying so much. She laughed again, green eyes sparkling.

"It's such a rare opportunity to see you in something other than our old-lady uniform," she explained teasingly. "I figure I'd better take advantage of the situation while I can. All the other girls will be jealous of me now…ha, I'm having fun thinking about it already, and I haven't even tried to imagine their faces yet!" She grinned, lost in the soon-to-be-excitement of it all.

"Well, isn't that wonderful," Riku drawled sarcastically, turning back to the wardrobe and withdrawing a black and dark blue uniform with gold trim. "And you call this an old lady uniform? I doubt anything out of your entire collection of clothing at home is as fancy or as beautiful as this…lovely…garment."

The green-eyed girl giggled again. The uniform in question consisted of a simple, functional pair of black slacks and collared shirt, along with a deep blue vest. Any and all identification and ranking labels of the wearer were to be pinned to the right side of the vest. All three pieces of clothing were also trimmed at the edges with gold braid. The attire for females was identical, but the vest was instead of blue a dark red.

Selphie was noticeably not wearing her uniform, opting instead for a pair of tight black jean Capri pants and a sparkly red tank top. She was also barefoot. "The uniforms are so stuffy. I feel like my body can't breathe or something."

"I notice that you weren't brave enough to dress outside the coded colors, though," Riku noted, slightly amused, as he pulled on his shirt and began to button his way down.

"Or maybe it's because I'm smart enough to realize that less people will bother me like this," she offered with a smile. "You never know."

Riku smirked, pausing mid-button. "When you get brought up before the Committee for 'failure to submit to the accepted and pre-determined attire of the Organization', do me a favor and make sure to tell me so I can laugh at you."

"So mean, Riku!" Selphie pouted.

"You've said that already," Riku said loftily, donning the vest and buttoning it quickly. Now fully dressed, he grabbed a small back band from his bathroom counter and held it between his lips. He then reached behind him and quickly twisted his long silver hair into a simple braid, using the band to tie it off.

"Your hair looks better loose, you know," Selphie informed him.

"It gets caught on things and tangles if I leave it loose. Braids are more functional. Now, what is it that you want with me?"

"Oh, that." She waved a hand in front of her face lazily. "I'm just here to tell you that Auron wants to see you later."

Riku raised his eyebrows in surprise. Selphie was one of the few people he knew who could place a meeting with Auron under the classification of 'oh, that.' The Commander and old veteran was somebody that everyone in the compound kept in high regard; least of all that he could probably take down any one of them at any given time, aged as he was. If Auron wanted to meet with him, then something important was definitely on the rise.

"Auron wants to see me," he repeated, running it over in his mind. "That's not what I expected. You're sure about this, Selphie?"

"Do you think I would have bothered with your door if I wasn't?" She reasoned, leaning back against the headboard.

"I don't know. You would probably do most anything if it meant you could get sugar. Or if you had already eaten copious amounts of sugar. Either works."

The brown haired girl grumbled but did not bother to contradict what Riku had said, knowing that she would be fighting a battle that was practically lost anyways. Instead she just asked, "Well, do you want the whole message or what?"

"Please."

Selphie let out a breath, looking up and keeping her gaze at the ceiling before beginning. It was a habit of hers that Riku had noticed before but never bothered commenting on. "'Riku Okada is requested to make his presence known at the office of Auron Landel, First-Rank Commander of the Organization XIII. He is requested to arrive between the time period of two-thirty this afternoon and six o' clock this evening. Currently, there will be no further explanation on this matter,'" she concluded, lowering her gaze to meet Riku's eyes.

He shrugged. "So no info until I show up, huh? How helpful… I'm not expected for what- an hour?" He glanced at the clock. "Too bad. I was hoping to get some training time in today, but I suppose I won't be able to unless Auron's not planning on keeping me."

"Well, in any case, my job's done," Selphie said lightly. "So I'll guess I'll see you later, Riku." She hopped down from the bed and made her way to the door, taking the handle gingerly with the tips of her fingers as to avoid the black vine slowly winding around it. Riku waited for her open the door, then stepped through into the hallway behind her.

"Make sure you get it fixed, Selphie," he warned her, but his lips were twitched up into a smile. She pouted playfully at him and mock saluted.

"Yes, sir."

* * *

Aerith was barely listening to the click-clack tap of her keyboard as she typed up the most recent analysis of the situation at Traverse Town. Her fingers flew lightly over the keys, forming sentences describing the barrage in the Third District. She paused, and brushed the computer screen with her forefinger, switching the window to show a video play screen. Another light tap on the screen and she leaned back a little as the recording began again. 

"Computer," she said quietly. "Please change the settings of the analysis document to allow oral dictation, then copy everything said from this point in the video onwards into text format."

The message '**UNDERSTOOD**' flashed on the screen momentarily, then vanished. Aerith sighed, taking off her glasses and placing them in her lap. She rubbed her temples wearily before calling, "Olette!"

A few moments later, a petite, green-eyed young woman with waved brown hair turned the corner. "You called?"

Aerith smiled and nodded, turning her chair to face the other woman. "I'd like to ask you or Pence to take over here temporarily, if you could. If you think that running the wing short-staffed would be a problem, then I could leave it on its own, but I'd rather have somebody here in case something comes up."

"Pence is better with computers than I am," Olette admitted. "I think he went for a short break about half an hour ago. I can try and find him, or—" Aerith cut her off with a small shake of the head and a smile.

"No, don't bother him," she said, turning back to the computer. "The ward has been so busy lately; he deserves as much rest as he can manage. You too," she added, seeing Olette was about to protest. "I can't allow anybody getting sick or faint on me. Go on, take a break. I can manage the ward."

"But the analysis—"

"Can wait," Aerith said firmly, turning back to the computer. "Computer, please pause all file functions, then revert to standby."

'**UNDERSTOOD**' moved across the screen again, followed by '**NOW ON STANDBY**'. A moment passed, and the screen went black. Aerith moved her head from side to side as she revolved to face Olette again, trying to work out the kinks in her neck.

"Who's on the shift tonight?" she inquired, placing her glasses back on again and standing.

"Me and Kairi."

Aerith sighed. "I wish I didn't have to assign double shifts, not with all the work we're doing. I'll need to ask the Commanders for more volunteers later…"

"Miss Gainsborough, you're working harder than anyone," Olette said softly. "I don't mind doing double shifts, and neither do the others."

"_I_ mind that you're doing double shifts. Staying up for eighteen hours at a time is not healthy. Honestly, if I could get Regulation changed…" Aerith muttered, before shaking her head wearily. "We'd best get back to work. We can only do what we can for now."

Olette nodded and began to walk back to the ward, Aerith following behind her. When they reached the main hallway, Olette turned left into the room holding the people with more minor wounds.

"Olette," Aerith warned. Olette sighed.

"I'll rest after Pence gets back, Miss Gainsborough. I promise."

Aerith smiled. "That's all I'll ask." She then kept walking until she reached the victims of serious injuries.

She paused by each bed, checking to make sure that each inhabitant's condition was stable. There was sadly only so much curative magic could do, and she knew that many of the patients in these beds chances of survival were slim. Despite that, Aerith would continue trying to heal them. As the head of this infirmary, she owed them that much at the very least.

Halfway through the room, she stopped, looking down. Bending at the waist, she pressed her palm to the base of the patient's neck. A small stream of pale pink light flowed from her hand down the patient's body, pooling around their chest. Aerith's lips tightened, and she straightened. The light vanished.

Moving to the small keypad besides the bed, Aerith pressed a key. A holographic screen six inches across appeared, listing the patient's name, date of birth, and other personal information. She pressed another, smaller key, and the header **DECEASED** preceded the rest of information, now including the date and cause of death. Aerith read the answer given for the latter, even though she knew what she would find:

"Currently unknown," Aerith whispered, reading it. So many deaths in the last few weeks had been caused by 'currently unknown.'

Letting out a small heave, Aerith closed the hologram and moved the hospital sheets so that the deceased's face was covered. She would be picked up later that day and brought to her family before being buried in the Organization cemetery.

Squaring her shoulders, she made her way around the rest of the room without further incident. She was finishing up with the last patient when the sound of footsteps announced another person's presence. She glanced up and smiled sadly when she saw who it was.

"Commander Strife."

"You know that it's Cloud, Aerith," Cloud said, smiling back at her. "How…how are things here?" He looked around, his gaze falling onto the bed with the sheets pulled up. "Oh, no…"

"She's the third one this week," Aerith murmured softly. "The burial dispatch will be here to pick her up in an hour, to bring her back to her family."

"Nothing is effective?"

Aerith shook her head despairingly. "No. We haven't even managed to identify what's causing it."

Cloud sighed, his mouth twisted. "Aerith, I know this isn't the best time, but Landel needs to talk to you. Now, if possible."

Aerith looked over the room again, then nodded. "Alright. Just let me tell somebody first…"

"I've already spoken with the brunette," Cloud told her. "She asked me to try and keep you away from here so much. I think she's right. You need a break." He followed her out of the room and down the hall.

"I'm fine," she insisted, turning into the same ward she had left Olette in earlier. The brunette was still there, talking quietly to a heavy-set, black-haired boy. When she and Cloud entered the room, they turned and quickly saluted.

Next to her, she felt Cloud shift uncomfortably. He had never gotten fully used to all the protocol that his position demanded of the lower-ranked officers.

"I'm afraid I'll have to leave you two alone for awhile," Aerith began. "I should be back soon, so just keep checking on the patients. Olette, please, take a break. I'm sure Pence can handle the ward alone for a little while."

Pence and Olette shared a glance, before Pence said, "Yes, ma'am."

"Thank you," she smiled at them as she walked past. Cloud nodded at each of them in turn before following her out into another hallway and into the main entrance of the wing.

"She's not going to take a break," Cloud stated as they exited the room, turning right on the way to Auron's office.

"Probably not," Aerith admitted, "But that just means I'll have her take two breaks this evening."

"She'll accept that?"

"I said that I'd have her take two breaks, not that I'd ask her to take two breaks. She won't have a choice," Aerith said tartly. Cloud's face remained passive.

"You should take your own advice," he said seriously. "Rest."

"I can't. We still need to complete the analysis, _and _we're understaffed. We need more people, Commander," she said.

"…I know," he said slowly. "I'll see what I can do, Aerith. As for the analysis, that's partially what Landel wants to speak with you about."

"And the rest?"

"I can't say it here."

She raised an eyebrow at him, but let the matter drop. Turning another corner, they strolled along silently, passing through several gathering squares where throngs of people chatted unconcernedly. Many of them saluted Cloud as they passed, and the blonde carefully nodded back at each person.

After another minute's walk and climbing several staircases (neither wanted to bother with the traffic the elevator or the warp would bring), they reached their destination.

Cloud pressed his hand to a while box attached to the wall near a plain doorway, and waited. A moment later, the door opened.

"Come in," a gruff voice called. "And shut the door behind you."

* * *

Approximately an hour and a half after his wake-up call by Selphie, Riku made his way through the smaller, less-traveled corridors on the way to Auron's office, lost in thought. 

In all honesty, Riku knew that he shouldn't have been surprised when he found out that one of the Commanders wanted to speak with him. He had simply never given the idea much thought, because it meant thinking about what the meeting would entail. That was what Riku was currently thinking about—he had a couple of ideas, and he didn't care for either of them.

Sighing, Riku raked a hand through the front of his silver hair and turned another corner. He was getting nowhere by brooding over this. What happened would happen. Worst come to worst, he could run and just hide out at Sora's place.

After another few minutes, Riku stopped. Well, he was here. He placed his hand on the standard white box and waited.

"—Name and business."

"Riku Okada. I was requested for a meeting," he replied.

"Make sure to shut the door."

The door opened, and Riku stepped inside, kicking it lightly closed. Commander Auron Landel sat at his desk, leaning back in a comfortable leather chair. He wore his customary red jacket, his left arm propped in it as if he wore a sling. His black hair was streaked with gray, and his dark eyes regarded Riku calmly from behind shaded glasses.

He was not the only other person in the room. Sitting in a chair across from Auron's desk a woman with a pink bow in her brown here smiled at him softly. And resting against the wall with his arms folded across his chest, a spiky-haired blonde with blue eyes nodded.

Riku recognized both of them and straightened immediately. Auron's lips twitched upwards.

"Sit," he gestured with his good hand towards another chair.

Riku nodded and sat down, still watching Cloud with the corner of his eye. Not just one, but two Commanders? This did not bode well. "You wanted to speak with me, sir?"

"Yes. You've been given a new assignment," Auron said flatly. He shuffled through one of the drawers on his desk, withdrawing a small metal card and tossing it at Riku.

Riku caught the card easily, blinking. "…A new assignment?" Was that really it?

Auron smirked at Riku's expression. "Don't give me that look, kid. You've been off the assignment rosters for months. You can't tell me you hadn't thought about it."

"I…" Riku floundered. Good lord, he was an idiot…

"Well, in any case, this is it," Auron continued, cutting Riku off. "A new Project is going to be put into effect starting two days from now, and you're in. Short version is you'll be taking over the analysis of the war zones currently being provided by Miss Gainsborough," he nodded at Aerith respectfully. "The long version's on that card, so I won't keep you."

"…"

It was obviously a dismissal but Riku, something nagging him in the back of his mind, decided to push his luck and remained seated. Auron raised an eyebrow at him. "I take it you have something to say."

Riku placed his hands on his lap, crossing his fingers together lazily. Leaning back, he met Auron's gaze with his own. He didn't want to appear unconfident here. "…There's something you haven't mentioned, Commander. I'd like to hear what it is."

"What makes you say that?"

"Earlier this afternoon, I was woken up by Selphie Tilmitt. She was ordered, by you, to relay the message that I was to come to your office. I was admittedly not expecting this, but I went along with it. I arrive to find not only you, but the head of the infirmary and Commander Strife here as well. And the only thing you wanted to speak with me about was that I had a new position? It would have been easier for you just to send this chip directly to me if that was all you wanted."

"You think I'm hiding something," Auron mused.

Riku shrugged, glancing at Cloud again. "You, or possibly Commander Strife. It's a well-founded suspicion, at the least."

Cloud's gaze hardened considerably. "You—" he began tersely, but a gruff chuckle cut him off. The blond turned. Auron was smoothing the edges of a smile from his lips.

"Let it be, Strife," the old veteran advised, placing his hand back on the desk. "You have to admit, the man has a point. Very well, Okada," he turned back to Riku. "I'll try and set things straight. I called Miss Gainsborough here to tell her she was no longer required to finish the analysis she has been working on as of late. Commander Strife is here simply because he agreed to escort Miss Gainsborough to and from the infirmary. Because the new Project you have been assigned to concerns both of them, I found no reason to make you wait for their leave or to send them out of the room.

"As for the project itself, it's true I should have mentioned two other things. The first is you're heading it along with one other officer. The second is why you have this position." He stopped and looked directly at Riku, who finished the sentence for him.

"I'm ex-NOCTURNE," he stated quietly, his hands clenching on his lap.

"Correct."

Riku took in a deep breath and released it shakily. "I'm…not sure exactly what to say. This isn't what I wanted, to start."

"We know," Auron said. "That is partially the reason for the co-command. We are assuming it will be easier for you."

Riku nodded, his head a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions. He had _known _it had something to do with NOCTURNE, he had _known…_but that didn't make hearing it any more pleasant for him. He stood stiffly and began to make his way to the door. "I understand. If you would excuse me."

He didn't wait for Auron's reply as he walked out and shut the door behind him.

* * *

"Ah…" Selphie sighed, falling back with a soft 'plumpf' on the bed. So comfy…she lay like that for a few minutes, her eyes closed and her breathing even. Wow, no wonder Riku hadn't wanted to get up…this bed was really, really nice… 

Much more comfortable than her own, in fact. Selphie's nose scrunched as she considered this. Now that she thought about it, Riku's room was better than hers in a lot of ways. Softer bed, bigger bed, bigger closet, bigger bathroom…

"Not fair…" she whined pathetically to herself, rolling over so she was on her stomach. She closed her eyes, sighing as she relaxed.

"What's not fair? And why are you in my room?"

"Comfy," Selphie explained, eyes still closed. "Fixed your door."

"I can see that," Riku said, moving past her towards his desk. Reaching into his pocket, he withdrew the card Auron had given him ealier and plugged it in. Sitting down, he hit a few keys lightly with his fingers. A hologram screen appeared, filled with row upon row of text.

"What're you doing?" Selphie mumbled sleepily.

"…" Riku didn't reply, his eyes scanning over the page.

"Answer me, Rikuuu…"

"…"

"…" Selphie opened her eyes, flipped over, and quickly crawled across the bed so she could see what Riku was doing. She blinked as she took in the header and several of the sentences beneath it. Then she screamed. "Not _fair_! Not fair _at all_!"

Riku spun, clamping his hand down over Selphie's mouth. "Shut up, Selphie," he warned her, aquamarine eyes flashing dangerously. He removed his hand, ready to bring it back down if necessary.

"But you're moving!" she exclaimed, gesturing wildly at the screen. "You get to move to the Third Wing! Do you have any idea how nice the rooms are there? They're twice as big as this one, and this one is already bigger than mine! What're you gonna do with all that space? You won't be able to even use it properly!"

"Honestly, Selphie? I couldn't care less."

"Exactly!"

Riku pinched the bridge of his nose- a habit of his that betrayed that he was annoyed. "Selphie, if you're not going to calm down and be intelligent, leave," he said harshly. "I don't feel like dealing with a hyperactive twit at the moment."

"Fine," she sniffed, jumping down. "I'll talk to you later, Riku." She didn't even glance at him as she strolled across the room, thrust open the door, and threw it shut behind her. Riku just sighed and turned back to the screen. It was her fault he had snapped anyways.

**PROJECT: MORNING STAR**

**Information, Objective**_The objective of this project is to complete all current and future analysis of the situations of all war zones, as well as of the enemy- commonly known among the general populace as 'Heartless.' In order to receive the maximum amount of information possible, several Operations will also be placed throughout the length of the Project. Operation locations, dates, and personnel are currently unknown and will be scheduled at a later date._

_All analysis is to be completed either in the field or within the Organization XIII headquarters, 3rd (third) floor. All Project personnel not currently residing in the Third Wing are requested to change residences within 24 (twenty-four) hours of receiving this card. _

_The first meeting of the Project is currently unscheduled. _

**Project Head: Squall Leonhart, Riku Okada**

**Assignment (Riku Okada):**_You will be in co-command of Project: MORNING STAR, responsible for the accuracy of information provided on every analysis. You will report weekly to Commander Auron Landel on the comings of the project. Additionally, you will be in charge of training any and all personnel for any given Operation whose objective relates to the Project. _

Riku's lips twitched into a humorless smile. Well, that was good at least. He wouldn't be getting out of practice…

_You are also requested to keep note of your co-commander, Squall Leonhart. If situations arise in which he is unable to perform his duties, or prevents you from your own, please report to the office of Commander Cloud Strife. _

...and Leonhart, whoever he was, was probably going to be on the same orders to watch Riku. How wonderful. Skimming through the rest, he turned of the computer and stood. "Well, time to get a room change," he muttered to himself.

* * *

Leon shut the computer down wearily, and removed the card. Twirling it in his fingers for a moment, he tossed it to the side and slowly raised himself out of the chair. 

So he was in command of a new Project. Well. He could always yell at Cloud later.

Stretching, he meandered over to one of the many bookcases he had had moved to his new room. Now that he had enough space to actually possibly want to remain in his room, he was going to take advantage of it. Who knew how long this Project was going to last.

Selecting one of the thick, leather-bound tomes, he laid back on his bed, flipped to the first page, and began to read. He was halfway through the first paragraph when a half-muffled shout and large banging sound came through his back wall.

"---shit!"

Leon frowned and looked up from his book momentarily, but upon no further distractions returned to reading. A minute or so passed, and Leon was on the third page. He was about to forget the incident entirely when he was interrupted yet again—this time from a solid pounding on his door.

The brunet considered his options. He could ignore them, and try and read through the sounds, or he could answer, ignore them, and read in silence. He decided to try the former.

However, after a good thirty seconds with no pause in the sounds, Leon set his book down, stalked over to the door, and threw it open.

"What?" he asked irritably, taking in the man before him.

He was tall, Leon noted, but the newcomer was still two or three inches shorter than he was. His pale skin accentuated shining, silver hair pulled into a loose braid hanging over his shoulder, and his pink lips, pulled into a small smirk. The most notable feature about him, though, was his eyes—a bright, startling aquamarine framed by uncommonly long lashes. All in all, the man was undeniably attractive- but Leon was too annoyed at him to admit that.

"You're Squall Leonhart, I take it," the man said. His voice matched his face perfectly- smooth, silky, and more than slightly arrogant.

"…" Leon didn't answer, waiting for the other to get to the point.

"I'm Riku Okada," the man—Riku-- said. "I'll be working with you for a while on the new Project, so I thought I'd…introduce myself." He stopped, examining Leon carefully before continuing. "I won't pretend and say I look forward to doing this, but don't take it personally."

Oh, Leon wouldn't. In all honesty, he couldn't agree more.

"That's about it," Riku commented. "I'll see you on Monday, then." Not waiting for a response, he turned and walked away. Leon watched him for a moment, then closed the door.

So. That was his new partner. Leon walked over to his computer and looked around, locating the chip on the floor a few feet away. Plugging it in, he scanned through the text until he found what he was looking for.

_You are also requested to keep note of your co-commander, Riku Okada. If situations arise in which he is unable to perform his duties, or prevents you from your own, please report to the office of Commander Cloud Strife._

Leon knew how to read people- it was a skill he had acquired bit by bit over the years. He also knew when to trust his gut instinct.

…He'd be seeing a lot of Cloud in the near future.

* * *

…and so ends the first chapter. You guys should all know the drill from other fics, so please take the time to leave a review. I'm not the type of person to ask for a minimum amount of reviews per update, but leaving one would really, really make me happy- and I'll be sure to respond as long as you're signed in. Also- I currently have no beta. English is my mother tongue, and I'm confident in my writing abilities, but if somebody would like to volunteer for that, I'd be really grateful. (bows slightly) So see you again soon! 


	2. Overflow

Author's Notes: Welcome back, everybody! First off, sorry it's taken slightly longer than expected to update. My outline for this story was accidentally deleted; I'm working on reconstructing it at the moment, and all should be well by the time the next chapter or so comes out. With school started again, I'll try my best to keep writing on the weekends- at most, chapters should have an average two-month update speed.

For those of you who reviewed, thank you so much for your support, and please keep letting me know what you think! Extra thanks also go to **rabid behemoth** for agreeing to be my beta for the rest of this haul. :)

Finally, I do not in any way lay claim to the Kingdom Hearts franchise or its characters.

_**Sightline**_

**chapter II: overflow**

Riku closed the door to his new room, hearing the soft 'click' it made as it slid shut, and let out a long breath. Shutting his eyes, he felt himself physically relax as his leaned against the door. Introduction to new partner: complete. There were other things that Riku needed to do, but for now…

He could let himself absorb everything for a while.

Riku opened his eyes and surveyed the new space critically. It was as spacious as Selphie had claimed, with easily enough space to fit another person in here. Riku supposed that the room had actually been meant for two people at one time, but had been changed to a single somewhere later along the line. It wasn't exactly as if the Organization's headquarters was bursting with members.

Riku's heart throbbed painfully for a moment, and he winced slightly, placing a hand on his chest as he waited for the squeezing sensation to fade. When it was gone he sighed slightly and sat in a black leather chair placed next to an empty bookcase; both items were obviously brand new. Riku shouldered away his distaste and closed his eyes again, trying to sort his thoughts.

Long fingers slowly reached up towards his shoulder and pulled out the small, black band keeping his hair tied, letting it fall to the floor as they combed through silver hair. The braid undone, his hair fell loose against his shoulders, his hands returning to his lap.

It was a small thing, but Riku always had always known himself to relax more when his hair wasn't tied. A strange quality, to be sure, but one that Riku had never particularly dwelled on.

More importantly...everything. Anything.

He didn't want to do this.

The Commanders knew that already.

He didn't know if he _could_ do this.

_Today, we are all cowards, _a voice echoed in his mind. _It is not who we are trained to be, or even more importantly, who we are meant to be. But today…that is who we must be._

Riku gritted his teeth, his closed eyes clenching as he shook his head to get rid of the voice. He wouldn't go down that path. Riku had sworn that he wouldn't, and he had no intent on breaking his word. It was one of the few things he could trust himself about anymore, but that was a feeling that most operatives experienced during active service. It was the way the Organization worked.

The silver-haired man sighed and craned his neck backwards, his eyes drifting open and staring blankly at the plain, white ceiling. The way the Organization worked…was enough for Riku, and in a way always had been. Riku wouldn't lie to anybody, least of all himself, and say that he was satisfied. But for now he could survive here easily enough. And that was more than many people in the outside world could say.

He sat in the chair, lost in thought, as long seconds passed into minutes into an hour, and wondered idly why it was that so many things that needed to be said seemed fated to be left unspoken.

When they were finished speaking with Auron, Aerith turned to Cloud and said firmly, "Commander, let's go get some tea." The flat determination in her eyes, even more so than her tone, made it clear that while her words were stated as a request, Cloud had better not treat it as such and refuse.

Instead, Cloud just asked slowly, "Shouldn't you get back to the wing?"

"Yes. But they can manage without me for just a while longer…they've done very well for themselves these past few days; I trust them."

The blond paused a moment, then nodded. "Alright, but don't let me keep you."

"You'll do no such thing," Aerith said, smiling. "Now, let's go down to your office, it'll be quiet there…"

Cloud made a small noise of consent and led the way down the spacious corridor. His office was relatively close to Landel's, at a leisurely pace it would only take a minute's walk. Aerith followed a step behind him, hands rested comfortably on her abdomen, fingers intercrossed. He glanced back at her once, and she in return blinked at him in a silent inquisition. Cloud shook his head and shifted his gaze to back in front of him.

The silence between them was comfortable, as it had long been. When they reached Cloud's office, the Commander held open the door for Aerith as she walked inside. An office identical to Landel's lay before her, but this one lacked even the small amount of personality the older Commander had managed to give his room.

"You should put in flowers," the brunette suggested quietly. "Yellow ones, to match your hair."

Cloud snorted in derision and replied, "The room's functional, and that's what matters."

Ignoring him, Aerith continued blithely, heading over to small call-order service on the left wall. "Marluxia might have some nice ones, but then, he's been so busy lately I wouldn't really know…" Pressing a small button, Aerith leaned into the speaker and said, "Excuse me? A pot of tea and two cups, to be delivered to Commander Strife's office. Ah, wait a moment." She turned back to Cloud. "What kind of tea would you like?"

Sitting down at his paper-laden desk, Cloud shrugged. "Anything is fine."

"If it's not too much of a bother, green tea would be nice. Thank you."

The blond raised his eyebrows slightly at that. "You like green tea."

Aerith nodded, adjusting her glasses slightly. She walked over to his desk and took the seat across from him, placing her hands lightly on the table. "The taste is nice, and it's easier to imbue green tea with healing magic than it is with a lot of other liquids. We use it in the hospital wing a lot, for…internal problems." She gestured lightly at her stomach. "I've grown fond of it, over the last few months."

"Hmm."

"Oh, don't complain. If you wanted some other type, you should have spoken up when I asked you."

"It's…not like that," Cloud protested, frowning. "Green tea is fine, Aerith."

She beamed at him, and he couldn't help but notice how much brighter that look in her eyes had been a year ago. Even in the middle of a war, sometimes it was hard to remember the price that people paid to remain in the Organization. Cloud had his own problems to deal with, and Aerith had hers. He knew this, but he couldn't help the twinge of guilt his stomach had when he saw that smile.

"In any case, what were we talking about before?" Aerith asked. "Oh, that's right. Flowers. You really should put some in here, they'd look nice."

Cloud shut his eyes. "Kisaragi said the same thing. I don't need flowers."

Aerith's eyes widened in surprise. "Yuffie was here? How is she?"

Cloud nodded, sighing. "Cid called her back for a bit a few weeks ago. She stayed with him for…one, maybe two days. It's probable that she was here scouting, Cid mentioned something about a switch being requested."

"It would have been nice to say hello," Aerith murmured. Just as she finished her sentence, there was a knock at the door. "Our tea."

"Come in," Cloud said, and a young woman holding a platter bearing a pot of tea and two small tea cups entered the room. She set the items down on his desk, bowed, and swiftly exited.

Aerith took the tea pot poured some of the beverage into both cups, handing one to Cloud and placing the other in front of her.

"Speaking of Yuffie, did you know, Commander, that she…" Aerith took a sip of her tea before continuing, "has failed to even stop by the infirmary for the past two years? She didn't show up for her annual inspections, and I have not even heard a whisper as to why she believes such a thing will be…without consequences." She phrased the last bit of her sentence carefully, and Cloud instantly understood exactly why Yuffie had kept away for so long.

"Cid will find out if anything happens to her," Cloud said, his face neutral.

Aerith sniffed, taking another rather unladylike gulp of tea before setting down her cup. "I hope so, because then I'll have an excuse to give her a good talking to." Cloud coughed delicately, distracting Aerith from the finer points of Yuffie's health policy—or lack thereof. "Ah—I almost forgot, how silly of me. What I meant to ask you today was how you are, Commander."

Cloud blinked warily. "…I'm fine."

The brown haired woman gave him a disbelieving look, and Cloud sighed internally. He wished she wouldn't be so pushy, but that was simply the way Aerith was, like it or no.

He elaborated slightly. "Things are the same as they were last year."

"Meaning you're overworked, overstressed, and instead of attempting to relieve any of it you take it all in stride, accounting it towards your duty as a Commander," Aerith sighed. "Honestly, Commander…"

"You can't expect me to take leave now."

"I can and do, but you don't agree with me," Aerith said.

"You should know better than almost anyone, Aerith," Cloud said softly. "We don't have enough people, and the people we do have we misuse."

"What makes you say that?" Aerith asked, leaning back in the chair comfortably. Cloud glared at her, and she raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Oh, stop it. If you don't want to answer my questions, tell the other Commanders that you're taking a month's leave tomorrow."

"I can't do that," Cloud said, eyes darkening.

"Then answer my question," Aerith replied easily, taking up her tea again. "One or the other, Commander. I'd honestly prefer the former, but since you're being stubborn, talking to you about your feelings will just have to do."

Cloud paused, before saying, "I don't need a psychiatrist." It came out sharply, and Aerith frowned at him.

"I'm not here to analyze you, Commander," she said, and Cloud could tell that she was offended. "I'm here because I want to know how you're doing."

The Commander was silent, not knowing how and unwilling to respond. The woman in front of him set her empty tea cup down in front of her, and crossed her hands above her waist, waiting. They sat like that for a minute before Aerith let out a small breath and said quietly:

"Please."

Another long moment passed, before Cloud said, barely audible, "The projects that we've been assigning lately…a lot of the people we put to them are the wrong people for the job."

Aerith considered this. "Hmm…who do you think?"

"You, until recently. obviously," the blond stated, glaring at his untouched tea. "Most of the LUNA BANDIT and NOCTURNE ex-operatives, Okada included...Aerith, that project Landel just assigned to him is going to go nowhere."

"Are you sure you're not underestimating him?" Aerith questioned. Cloud gave a hollow laugh.

"It's got nothing to do with his abilities—if that was all it was going to take, I would have been the first to recommend him for the position. His credentials are some of the best I've seen despite that he's only been with us for a year and a half, and Landel's probably been considering him for promotion for a while. I haven't worked with him personally at all, but from what I saw of him in Landel's office, it's obvious there are going to be major…difficulties."

He stopped, before saying darkly, "Leon is his partner." He shut his eyes, leaning forward and placing his face on his palm. "From what I could tell, if you wanted to describe Okada it would be 'prideful and determined' if you wanted to be polite and 'arrogant and exceedingly stubborn' if you wanted to be blatant but accurate. He's ex-NOCTURNE, but he doesn't want to be associated with it, which the job will require him to be. Meanwhile Leon is…well, you know how he is."

Lids were partially lowered over green eyes, as Aerith agreed, "I do."

"Then you understand where I'm coming from," Cloud said.

Aerith bit her lip, before saying slowly, "There is…something you might be able to do, actually…"

"What?"

"Rather, I know somebody who could help," Aerith elaborated. "He's Riku's best friend, and a lot of people within the Organization respect and like him."

"A name, Aerith," Cloud said, serious. If this man could make MORNING STAR work out…Cloud wanted him in on the project ASAP, regardless of who he was and what other duties he had.

Aerith paused for a long moment, anxious, and then murmured quickly, "Shimizu Sora."

"…I'll talk to Landel," Cloud said heavily, recognizing the name. "…his wife, her name is Naminé, isn't it? How is she?"

"…Sora was placed on leave three weeks ago," Aerith replied softly.

And then Cloud knew why Aerith's eyes were cast down, guilty.

* * *

Leon had never been particularly fond of Thursdays, and this one wasn't looking any better than the rest as he glared down his new "partner", sitting across from him in the conference room assigned to them for the remainder of the project. Off the top of his head, Leon had already thought of four reasons why he shouldn't have bothered to accept this mission within half an hour upon starting and had just thought up a fifth, now thirty-seven minutes into the workday.

_More of my thinking process has gone into thinking of reasons why I shouldn't be here than to do actual work and it doesn't even matter._

Okada glowered at him, eyes dark and arms crossed. He hadn't said a word for at least ten minutes, instead twirling a metal stylus roughly through his fingers and occasionally scribbling something on to the holoscreen cast in front of him.

They had each been relatively polite when they met each other that morning, but conversation between them had quickly died. Leon didn't like to talk unless he had to by nature, and his partner's natural attitude bothered him. It seemed that Riku was also extremely perceptive, and had quickly picked up on the waves of dissatisfaction Leon was apparently exuding.

The problem was that neither of them wanted the job, and both of them knew it. Leon had to wonder what in the world the Commanders had been thinking when they planned this project. He had spoken about it briefly with Strife the day before, but the Commander had been on his way to a meeting, cutting their time short. Leon had only managed to receive one piece of decent information:

"_The one who wanted Okada in the position was Landel. If there are problems, I'll make sure word reaches him."_

Strife had also made it clear that Leon's assignment was final, at least for the time being. Leon wasn't willing to be stuck in an assignment with a partner he couldn't even communicate with on fundamental levels. Leon would be confrontational if necessary, and enough was enough. "…Okada."

Riku's mouth twitched. "Leonhart."

Leon suppressed an angry sigh and said curtly, "We're going nowhere."

"Good of you to finally come up to speed." Leon's eyes flashed dangerously, and Riku smirked. "So, wise one, what do you propose we do? I'm all ears."

_You'd be a lot more tolerable if that was true, _Leon retorted silently. "Let's just start recruiting, and try and finish this damn thing as soon as possible."

"Right," Riku agreed sarcastically, turning the holoscreen around so that the front of it faced Leon, and pushed it towards the brunet. "Let's."

Stormy gray eyes met defiant teal ones momentarily, then were cast downwards towards the screen. A list of different information needs was displayed, all rated for importance. Leon scanned the list carefully, then said, "We'll need to divide this up, or we'll both be over our heads. Are you better in the field, or at desk work?" Before Riku could respond, Leon added, "And I want an actual answer."

Riku snorted, and then said shortly, "I've had more experience in desk."

_That's not what I asked, but to hell with it. _

Leon replied, "Then for now, draw up a list of the unassigned personnel"-he tapped the screen lightly, switching it over to a second page-"that you feel are the most qualified." He handed the holoscreen back to Riku, bringing up a new one for himself.

"Fine. You review all the information Aerith gave us, then," Riku said, taking the holoscreen and placing it in front of him. Setting down the stylus, he rested his fingertips on the portable keyboard and began to type. Leon followed suit, silence fell.

The quiet could not be called comfortable, but it was not overtly uneasy either. Rather, it seemed almost as if there were the tiniest of electric currents throughout the air, preventing him from completely relaxing while simultaneously not disturbing him. It was, frankly, a bit weird.

If Riku noticed the strange atmosphere, he made no comment on it as his fingers flew over the keys. His eyes were slightly dulled over, and Leon could see the reflections of the tiny text from his computer on them.

Internally sighing, Leon turned slightly and took a deep look over the information displayed before him. It was impressive, to say the least. If Aerith hadn't been so busy taking care of all the patients in the infirmary, he would have been happy to leave the whole affair with her, and he doubted the Commanders would have objected.

He slowly glanced over all of it, not bothering to read all the details of the situations right away—there was too much text for that option to be reasonable. He and Riku had a week before they were expected to report their choice of manpower to the Committee, and Leon could tell that Riku was the kind of person who expected you to be finished either before or at exactly the same time he was. Leon was somewhat loathe to admit it, but he was the same way.

The _click-clack _sound of fingers hitting keys filled the room as both men looked over their computers and took notes. They sat there silently for another hour, until they were interrupted by a knock on the door and a decidedly cheery voice.

"_This is Selphie Tilmitt, on behalf of Commander Auron! I'm here to speak with Riku." _

Riku blinked, bemused. "Come on in, Selphie," he said. His voice was instantly transmitted through the sound system attached to the back of his chair and to the automatic locking system employed by the entire Organization headquarters. There was a soft 'beep' and the door opened, Selphie walking in with a definite bounce to her step.

When she saw Leon, she blinked. "Squall!"

Leon gave a slightly forced smile. "Selphie."

She grinned at him and saluted, green eyes twinkling. "Reporting for duty, sir! Or something like that."

"You…know each other?" Riku asked quietly, glancing at Selphie to Leon to Selphie again, slightly bemused. Selphie nodded enthusiastically.

"Sure, sure! Squall and I go waaay back, he's practically like a big brother- isn't that right, Squall?"

Leon coughed slightly at this, knowing that it would be lost on Selphie but not on Riku. The message was received, and Riku gave a small smirk before saying, "I hate to come between you two, Selphie, as it seems like you have a lot to catch up on, but..."

"Oh, right, right!" she said, remembering. "Riku, you've gotta go visit Auron again real quick. He has an assignment for you."

Riku and Leon stared at her. Pausing, Riku said, "…now?"

"Yes," she confirmed. "Now."

The aqua-eyed man blinked, then shrugged, standing. "All right, if you say so…" He glanced at Leon, and the brunet inwardly winced at the dangerous little sparkle in his partner's eyes. "Selphie, why don't you stay with Leon while I'm gone? I'm sure you two have…a lot…to talk about, after all…"

Leon looked at Selphie, slightly tensed.

"Wish I could, but Mr. Grumps told me to just bring you to him, and he's got another message for me to deliver right after this one. Sorry, Squall!"

"Whatever," Leon said simply, turning back to his computer. Selphie looked indignant, but before she could say anything Riku placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Let's just go," he suggested. "You and Leonhart can talk some other time, I'm sure." The meaning of his words weren't lost on Leon, and the sound of fingers hitting keys became decidedly louder. Riku just smirked again as he led Selphie to outside, closing the door behind him.

Instantly, Selphie turned on him. "You didn't tell me that Squall was your partner!" she accused, but her gaze was friendly as she pouted and put her hands on her hips in a mock-offended manner.

"You didn't ask," Riku replied simply, heading down the hall. "And besides, you got to see the mission information, his name was right there if you had bothered to read it carefully…"

Selphie blinked. "I guess so," she conceded grumpily, following beside him.

"So…" Riku ventured, curious despite himself. "How do you guys know each other, anyways?"

"Like I said, we go way back- same hometown and all," she said happily. "He used to baby-sit me when I was a kid and he was in high school; we had all sorts of adventures. He's a big sweetie, really…"

The silver-haired man couldn't help but stare at her, disbelief written all over his face. That guy, a 'sweetie'? Like hell—he'd only worked with the man for all of an hour, and he already knew enough to effectively disprove a statement like that.

"I'm serious!" Selphie insisted, seeing Riku's expression.

"Does he have a twin?" Riku retorted, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"_No!_"

"Then the situation has got to be the very dramatic love child of an obscene coincidence," Riku deadpanned. "There's no other possible explanation."

"Just because you're too stupid to like him doesn't mean he's a bad guy," she retorted. Riku glared at her.

"What makes you think I dislike him?" he demanded. "I didn't say anything like that."

She sighed. "I'm not blind, but forget it," she said flatly. "I could say something else here, but I won't."

"Why?" Riku asked, slightly agitated.

"You wouldn't like it," Selphie explained calmly. "At all."

"I don't really see why that would matter."

"You wouldn't like it, Riku," Selphie repeated. "Let's just leave it at that."

Riku wanted to insist, but something in Selphie's tone stopped him. He didn't really want to fight with his friend at the moment, when he knew she was still smarting a little from his comments last time. Instead, he just clapped her lightly on the back.

"Yeah," he agreed, smiling down at her. "Okay."

A moment passed, and Selphie grinned back. "You're so easy, Riku."

"Hey!" Riku started, offended, and the green-eyed woman danced out of his grip and flew down the hall, sticking her tongue out at him playfully. Riku sighed, but allowed himself a small smile as he ran down the corridor after her. "Get back here, you. You're supposed to be taking me to Auron, remember?"

"Right…" Selphie's voice suddenly sounded serious, and her eyes were dark and unreadable. Selphie was always haphazard, but her tone made Riku wonder exactly what he was reporting for.

* * *

Auron was looking over paperwork when he heard the knock on the door. "Make sure to shut the door," he said simply, barely even looking up. Riku and Selphie stepped in, Riku kicking the door shut lightly behind him.

"Okada, Tilmitt," he greeted, waving towards the chairs in front of him. "Sit."

Selphie took her seat immediately, placing her left leg over her right and propping her hands on her knees in a very ladylike fashion. Riku took slightly longer to sit, as if wondering if he should or not. The silver-haired man glanced at the papers covering Auron's desk.

"You could get those transferred to data files, you know, Commander." Riku said neutrally.

"No time," Auron said gruffly, setting down the papers. "Physical copies have their own uses too, but I wouldn't expect a lot of people to agree with me."

"You wanted to see me."

"That's right," the Commander agreed. "I have an assignment for you."

"No disrespect meant, sir," Riku said quietly, squarely meeting Auron's eyes, "But I believe that you already gave me one two days ago."

"I have another one," Auron replied, his tone making it clear that there was to be no argument on the matter. "It will just take a day or so, and won't affect your other mission in any way."

Riku paused, then nodded reluctantly.

"I'll tell you beforehand that you're not going to like it," Auron said. "You're not going to like it, but you'll agree that you're the best man for the job.

"I need you to deliver a message to Sora Shimizu"-and here Riku's face went dead white with instant realization-"informing him that he has been re-enrolled within active service, and that he is to report to headquarters for duty immediately."

Riku simply sat there, eyes wide. Selphie was quiet as well, eyes cast downward. Auron had told her the contents of the assignment in advance, but he wasn't surprised that she had opted to say nothing, and he couldn't blame her.

The red-coated man was silent, still holding Riku's gaze seriously. Finally, Riku spoke.

"You can't."

Auron sighed. "But I am."

"You can't," Riku insisted, almost frantically. "You can't make him come back here, not yet."

"I know your misgivings, Okada," Auron said quietly. Riku's eyes flared, instantly furious. "But regardless of whether it is you who brings him or not, Shimizu will be re-enlisted in the service within the week. That is a _fact_, so get used to it."

Riku's hands were cleched on his lap, trembling with anger, and when he spoke next, it came out in a barely controlled hiss. "How dare you."

"Are you going to take the job or not? It's up to you," Auron said, voice sharp. Riku glared at him for a moment longer, and then slumped back, defeated.

"Fine," he snapped, looking away. "I'll do it."

"Good," the Commander replied heavily. "You'll go tomorrow."

"Fine."

The tone in Riku's voice was murderous, and Auron knew that he'd just made himself a new enemy. He'd understood the consequences that would occur when he made the final decision to bring Sora back. Sora himself would understand, insisting that it was for the good of the Organization and putting on a strong front. But he hadn't believed that Riku could do the same, especially not so soon after another unsatisfactory assignment, and he had been right.

"For what it's worth, you should know that he is being placed directly within MORNING STAR's jurisdiction," Auron informed him.

The anger in Riku's eyes didn't subside at all- he was skilled at reading between the lines. "Good."

"I take it you have no questions."

"No."

"Then you are dismissed."

**overflow/END**

* * *

Well, you've made it this far, so go ahead and hit that review button. I know you want to, and if you don't, _I _want you to. So do so. Please. :)

**next chapter: a woman smiling. **A photograph, three pairs of blue eyes, and the potential of a possibility.


	3. A Woman Smiling

Author's Notes: Hoohah, made it before the two-month deadline, school and all. Meant for this to be up a few weeks earlier, actually, but some scenes were being difficult, so it took longer than expected. But it's here now, and I'm as satisfied as much as I'll ever be (which is admittedly not very much, but...). Love goes to the reviewers from last chapter, and a thanks to those of you who favorited/alerted. Some of you have reviewed already, but for those who haven't--please do so! I'd love to hear exactly why you like this fic, because I honestly still don't know what it's got going for it. ;; Many thanks also to **rabid behemoth **for the beta. :)

Disclaimer: I do not in any way own/claim to own the Kingdom Hearts francise. And even if I did, suing me wouldn't be worth much anyways.

****

**_Sightline_**

**chapter III: a woman smiling**

"That damned bastard," Riku hissed as he stormed down the halls. "That god-forsaken, fucking bastard…"

Shoving his way past a startled, red-haired woman, Riku continued to fly through the hallway, made a sharp right and threw the door to the conference room open, letting it bang loudly against the wall.

Leon paused and looked up, his eyes crinkling slightly at the distraction. "Be quieter next time," he said, his voice harsh. He was about to turn back to his work when Riku's expression caught the corner of his eye and he stopped, instead glancing at his partner in full.

Unbridled fury stared back. Leon raised an eyebrow, silently curious. The silver haired man's posture was stiff, and his body seemed to crackle with invisible electricity. Large, aquamarine eyes were narrowed in anger, and Riku's lips were pursed and tight. When he spoke, it was with slow, feigned politeness.

"I'm sorry," he said, hands clenching momentarily. "It won't happen again."

Leon blinked carefully, before commenting, "Don't bother trying to be polite. I'm not your superior."

A tense pause. "Right," Riku snapped. "Whatever you want."

The brown-haired man shrugged and returned to the screen he had up. While Leon was mildly curious as to what had put Riku in such a state, it wasn't enough to tempt the subject. It wasn't his business anyways. Riku could be mad if he wanted to.

There was the sound an aggravated sigh, a few angry footsteps, and then the distinctive noise of a holo-screen fading. Reaching over the computer, Riku groped through the stacks of information disks and selected several. "…the digital recruitment won't take long, so I'll handle these."

Leon nodded silently, conceding.

"And I'll be late tomorrow. I don't know when I'll show up."

With that, Riku picked up the disks, recruitment information, and silently left the room, just barely controlling his temper enough not to slam the door behind him. Leon's fingertips paused over the keyboard as soon as the door closed, and a long moment passed in which Leon stared at the cluttered pile of disks sitting to his left-Riku had just tossed aside the ones he hadn't been interested in.

Frowning, Leon reached out and began sorting through the disks again in an attempt to put them back in the order Aerith had meant them to be in. Honestly, Leon didn't get how the woman had managed to spend so much time on this damn thing. It was as if she had a full-time team of five or six working for her, instead of a bunch of part-time volunteers and one or two other people with actual healing abilities.

It took several minutes for Leon to put the cards back into some semblance of order, and after finishing he gave it another go-over, just to be thorough. He stopped mid-way through, and then tapped his finger on the disk he had paused over.

_Twilight Town, Series Number 004._

Leon glanced at the two cards that came before it.

_Traverse Town, Series Number 006. Traverse Town, Series Number 005. _

He quickly flipped through the rest of the cards, ending at _Wutai, Series Number 002. _They were all present, with the notable exception of the rest of the Twilight Town series.

Twilight Town had been relatively unimportant for most of the war; the violence had only begun to escalate a little over a year ago. If Riku had really meant to lighten Leon's workload—which Leon believed was about as likely as the sun unexpectedly exploding within the next minute—he could have taken one of the more inflamed war zones.

Which led Leon to the following conclusion: Riku either didn't want Leon looking at the information on Twilight Town, or Riku had a need to look at the information himself. But the former was too easy.

There was only one event that happened at Twilight Town, but Leon couldn't see why Riku would be so interested—everyone knew what had happened there.

Narrowing his eyes and sighing heavily, he tossed the cards back and turned back to the holo-screen, determined. He wasn't going to make it his job to figure out the mental tendencies of his partner…regardless of what the project description said.

* * *

It took hours for Riku to calm down enough to finally be able to concentrate on his work again. Even then, it was hard to stop himself from yelling in frustration as his fingers jammed the chip into the selected slot and waited for the information to show.

The first three disks were virtually blank; they held only the basic information on the town and its inhabitants, including their general political structure and mainframe over the course of the last three and a half years. Notable but small events included several "sieges" ranging in length between two weeks and four months, and a mid-sized skirmish about two years ago at the end of one of them. Other than that, the area had been a small but active participant in food distribution between Traverse Town and Radiant Garden, as both quartered thousands of militia and were desperately short of provisions.

Riku distantly remembered his first encounters with Twilight. It had been a family trip, and he had been disappointed with how empty it had seemed, like a ghost town. He had discovered later that it was simply because most of the locals kept to the upper reaches of the town, where tourists didn't often go.

He had visited again by leave of his father when he was seventeen- a reward of sorts for making it into the Academy. The trip was more interesting this time around, and he had enjoyed it.

Lips tight, Riku took the next card and inserted it, waiting. A moment later, the screen was effused with data. Slowly, Riku began to scroll. When he finished, he looked over the next one- the last one. He paused, hands tightening as he read:

…_final death toll: 39/53. Names as follows._

He scrolled through the names, refusing to skip over them. It was nearly impossible to keep his hands from shaking.

Then it was the end of the list. The end. There was no more information on Twilight Town.

NOCTURNE had not been mentioned.

* * *

Roxas' head jerked up as the doorbell rang once, twice. He blinked and frowned. He carefully set down his pen and stood, making his way to the front hall and the telecom box. Pressing the button, he said slowly, "Shimizu residence."

"_It's Riku, Roxas. Let me in."_

Roxas' frown deepened in curiosity. Riku? Reaching the door, he pulled it open. Riku stood on the other side, customary smirk on his face and dressed in a long black coat. Roxas' face lightened and he grinned back.

"Come in, come in," he insisted, ushering his friend through the door. "You know where everything is- get yourself a seat, and I'll grab something for us to drink."

"Thanks," Riku replied, pulling off his shoes. There was an old familiarity to the action, but it startled Riku to realize that it felt strange. The military had changed him more than he liked. "Coffee would be nice."

"Mainlander," Roxas baited good-naturedly, vocalizing Riku's thoughts as he turned down the corner at the end of the hall.

Straightening, Riku called back, "If anyone's a mainlander here, it's you!"

The silver haired man heard a laugh, but no retort. Shaking his head ruefully—Riku doubted the mainlander insult would ever really die between the two of them—he began his way down the hall and passed the kitchen, were Roxas stood with his back turned, presumably measuring coffee beans. Taking the next left, Riku entered the study; it was his favorite room in the house.

It was small, a contradiction to the overall area of the Shimizu home, with only enough space to comfortably fit a queen-sized bed and maybe one or two other pieces of furniture. Dark wooden paneling made up the floor, and it was covered with a beautiful royal blue and cream colored rug that Roxas had bought during his extensive stay in Wutai. The walls were also a deep blue, the large windows accentuated with sheer dark blue curtains. A few bookcases piled with volumes upon volumes of literature were the same color as the wood on the floor. The room was completed with several chairs comfortable to relax and read in, a few shades lighter blue than that of the rug or walls.

As he sat down, Roxas entered, commenting, "You could have put your coat in the closet, you know. Here. Coffee, not tea."

Taking the steaming mug from the blond, Riku admitted, "I never actually liked tea all that much. Coffee was an easy switch."

"You _are_ a mainlander," said Roxas, mock-disgusted.

"The people in Wutai drink tea," Riku commented lightly, taking a hearty sip. "They're from the continent."

"The people in Wutai are insane," Roxas said wryly. He sat down in a chair opposite Riku. "Besides, it's not the same kind of tea."

"Details."

Roxas sighed in aggravation and took a small sip of his own steaming beverage- tea, not coffee- before setting it down on the desk, which was next to him. "Then ignore them, and tell me why you're here."

His companion straitened a little, pursing his lips. "I came to see Sora," Riku said.

"I know that," the blond said, irritated. Why did Riku always have to go about dodging the question?...honestly, he hadn't been this infuriating when they were kids. A bully, maybe, but at least then he was direct.

"Well, it's why I came. Can you get him for me?"

"He's probably asleep right now."

Riku's eyes narrowed in a slight glare, and he set his drink down on the desk as well. "Asleep? It's the middle of the day."

Roxas let out a small breath, shrugging helplessly. "Sometimes, he'll say he's just going to go take a nap and not to bother him. He comes back out in time for dinner. It's better than most days."

"Tell me."

The blond took a moment to examine his companion silently before he answered. Riku's face was calm, but his hands were clenched lightly in his lap and his green-blue eyes were dark with apprehension. It shook Roxas slightly. He had always known the deep respect and care that Riku held for his brother- Sora was probably one of the few people that Riku would do anything for. Riku was indifferent to many people, and his hard-won affection was often disguised by teasing insults. It was somehow disconcerting to see the other man being so open with his worry, even if it was for his best friend.

Resigned, Roxas said bitterly, "He locks himself in his room a lot of days, and doesn't come out for anything. After he comes back out, he's all right for a little while. Maybe a day or two will pass, and then he'll go back in again. He was in there for two days without food once- I always make him something when it happens, but he never takes it, even if I just leave it at the door for him."

"Idiot," Riku muttered, and Roxas could tell he felt guilty. It was uncomfortable; Roxas wasn't good at consoling people and wasn't quite sure what to say or do. There was a tense pause before he offered:

"I don't think- he's probably not sleeping right now, in any case. I can get him for you—"

"No," Riku interjected suddenly, standing. "It's…fine. I'll go talk to him. That'll…that'll be alright, I think."

"Yeah," Roxas conceded. "Alright. You know where his room is. He'll be happy to see you."

Riku, who was at the door, paused and said, "Yeah," before exiting the room, closing the door softly behind him. Turning right, he made his way to the stairs at the end of the hall and began to climb. Then in what seemed like only half a second, he was in front of the closed door that opened into Sora's bedroom. He swallowed painfully, and his heart beat hard in his chest. Slowly, he raised his hand, knocked on the door, and waited.

There was no response. The silver-haired man knocked again, slightly louder this time, before calling, "Sora? I came to see you. Open up."

Still silence. Maybe Roxas was wrong, and Sora really was asleep?

Then, a moment later, Riku heard muffled footsteps, a small click, and then the door swung open. Sora stood at the other side, a surprised smile on his face. "Riku!" Riku returned the smile and entered as Sora stepped back from the door, saying, "I got your message last week, sorry that I didn't reply…"

"No worries," Riku said calmly, grabbing the chair from the nearby table and dragging it over towards him over the cream carpeting. Sora closed the door softly—Riku noted that he left it unlocked—and flopped over onto the bed. "How are you?"

"I've been okay," was the response. Seeing Riku's disbelieving gaze, he frowned. "Really. I'm…as well as to be expected, I guess. Some days…some days are better than others."

"What have you been doing? Roxas says you stay up here a lot."

"Yeah, well," Sora shrugged. "I just…it's easier to think here. Try and sort things out. It's…really…strange, I guess…not seeing her here anymore. You know?"

"Yeah."

Sora paused and glanced away, and Riku knew he had made the wrong response.

"I want the truth," Sora finally said quietly. "Intended comfort isn't worth much anymore. Anger, sadness, contentment—I don't care what I feel after somebody says something, as long as I know what they're saying is true."

"Is it really that simple, though?" Riku asked seriously.

"It is now," Sora replied simply, looking up and letting his blue eyes squarely meet Riku's own.

Another pause, and then Riku said, "Alright."

Sora smiled gratefully, and Riku wondered how many people the blue-eyed man had really spoken to in the last month and a half. Not many, he was sure. Especially the last three weeks- Roxas was likely the only company that Sora had been given. He at the very least was glad for it. The brothers didn't see eye to eye on a lot of things, but their relationship was almost as close as Sora's and Riku's was—closer, before the military had split them down their separate paths. In a way, to enforce that split was what Riku was here to do; with Sora's request, he couldn't hide his motive for coming any longer.

Sora knew it too. "So, Riku…" he drifted off, and waited.

"You…" Riku started, breaking off abruptly. "You're required back at the Organization. You've been reenlisted within the active service rosters."

"Yeah," Sora agreed, whispering. "I figured as much." His tone and facial expression were resigned.

"Sora, I—"

"It's not your fault, Riku," the brunet interrupted, not breaking their eye contact. Riku detected the note of forced calm in his voice, but before he could protest Sora continued, "How long…do I have left before I'm expected to be there?"

"Not long," the silver-haired man said quietly. "If possible, they want you to come back with me this afternoon."

"And if not?"

"By this coming Tuesday."

"Three days."

Riku nodded silently. Sora let out a long breath, and said, "I'll go with you."

"You have time. You don't have to."

"Riku, there's hardly any difference," Sora said, this time not without a trace of bitterness. "And you know there's nothing good here for me anyways."

There wasn't really any way for Riku to express what he was feeling without getting Sora angry. He didn't want Sora to come back right then, but he didn't want Sora to have to come back on Tuesday either. Given that, there wasn't really an argument that Riku could make that would prevent his best friend from returning to the Organization immediately.

So instead Riku acquiesced, saying, "I'll give you some time to pack whatever you want to bring with you."

"I'll need to talk to Roxas first. To…explain."

Riku briefly contemplated telling Roxas himself, and then threw the idea aside. Roxas would be furious regardless of who broke the news, but Sora could handle Roxas' temper better. If Riku were to try, Roxas would get him riled up within a few seconds, making polite conversation impossible.

"I'll get him for you, then…I can wait downstairs, or should I help you pack?"

Sora thought about this for a second, and then replied, "I'll pack by myself. It won't…it won't take long."

Riku agreed, casting the cream-colored room another long glance—Sora had turned around and picked up a photograph from atop the nightstand, staring at it wistfully—before exiting into the hallway and setting off in search of Roxas.

He found him in the living room flipping through a sheaf of papers, marking them rapidly with a pen. He looked up as Riku entered.

"Your turn to talk to him," Riku said.

"Ah…right," Roxas responded slowly, visibly disconcerted. He set the papers down and stood, heading towards the door before turning and looking at Riku strangely. "Aren't you coming?"

"I think Sora wanted to talk to you alone," Riku replied lightly, shrugging in a _what can you do? _sort of way. Roxas blinked, bemused, but exited the room without further ado, leaving Riku alone.

Riku heard the padding of sock-shod feet on carpet and the slight creaking of the stairs whenever someone climbed them, and then silence. Looking about the room, his eyes fell briefly on the paperwork that Roxas had abandoned, and then moved on to a painting hanging on the far wall.

The picture featured the edge of a small house a simple, worn-brown porch, the support beams merging into pale yellow sand. Plants with large, shiny green leaves rested in red ceramic pots on the porch and in the sand, and the background featured a sparkling sea with a pure blue sky and a few clouds. A small figure stood near the edge of the water, his back turned towards the viewer. Moving closer so that he only stood a few feet away, he gazed at the painting sadly. It was a beautiful piece of work, but the feeling it gave Riku now was bittersweet.

Naminé hadn't liked this painting; she had been pouting when Sora had insisted on putting it up. _There are better ones, _she had protested. _The colors on this one are wrong, and…_Sora hadn't heard a word of it. Riku had privately been glad to see that Sora had chosen this painting; it was one of his personal favorites. Sora had admitted once that he thought that Naminé had a bit of a habit of not liking her own works as much as she should have, especially the ones which took her more time. _The more time she spends on one_, Sora had once said playfully, _the more she's bound to hate it. _

It had thus been amusing to both of them that Naminé spent days going over the final details of each painting and yet always was somehow less satisfied than she was before the improvements. What was funnier was that she never verbalized these complaints—instead, they were all suggested by her manner after finishing something.

Riku had watched her in these final stages once. She had been cleaning up the remainder of her paint, regarding the smidgens of the oil paint that had remained untainted from the others on her palette woefully, before she sighed and stuck the shaped glass under the running tap. Washing the paint off with a light sponge, Riku had watched as she made small talk, glancing back at the picture with a small frown every other minute. Finally, he had smirked and extracted her forcefully from the room, saying, _Stop being so nitpicky, and go scat already. _She had been quietly indignant—Naminé was soft spoken, but there had been a stubborn streak that had been fun to tease out of her.

She had been good for Sora. She had been a good woman in general. Riku had spent many hours quietly grieving over lost comrades over the past year and a half, but her death—or, rather, the imminence of; her fate had been known long before her breaths stopped coming—had affected him the most. The world hadn't seemed quite right without her quiet smile.

Blinking, he looked up, his memories of Naminé temporarily forgotten as he heard shouts from above him. The ceiling muffled too much sound for Riku to determine what was being said, but he could distinguish that it was two voices yelling, not one.

His hand clenched involuntarily for a moment, then relaxed slightly as the screaming ceased. He waited for another few minutes. His eyes were still on the ceiling when he heard, in rapid succession: a door slamming, the rapid pounding of footsteps on stairs, and then Roxas' voice in a barely audible hiss.

"You _bastard_."

"You think I don't know that?" Riku countered bitterly, turning and bringing his gaze down to Roxas as he crossed his arms. The blue-eyed man was livid, his expression promising a painful death for all those who cared to come across him.

"You should have told me!"

"Yeah, and I didn't."

Roxas let out an aggravated hiss, making a violent motion with his hand but remaining on the other side of the room. "So why the hell didn't you, then?"

"Maybe I should have considered it," Riku conceded, voice flat. "And maybe I would have, if I hadn't been so assured that you would react the exact same way you are now."

"Acting the way I am right now is hell of a better response than yours was—what, you just flop right over on the ground like some dead puppy and let them step all over you? Yeah, like that's doing Sora a lot of good! At least if you'd told me, we could've fucking _tried_ something!"

"Well, if that's the case, it _would_ have been better to tell you- what a way to let Sora know!" Giving the other man a sarcastic grin, he continued, pent up frustration and volume seeping into his voice as he went along. "Just imagine: I walk in, say, 'Hey, Roxas. Guess what. I'm here to drag Sora's ass back to the Organization, and there's not a goddamned thing either of us can do about it.' You start yelling in outrage, I start yelling back, and then Sora comes down totally clueless to find his brother and best friend screaming at each other about how the Organization doesn't give a fuck about his wife and that he's expected back ASAP!" Riku didn't bother to curb the sarcasm from his words. "Of course, now that I think about it, that would have been better, so I'm so sorry, right?"

"Don't give me that shit," Roxas retorted, his own voice rising to meet Riku's. "Don't act as if you're the only one who cares about what's good for him—if that was true, what the hell are you doing here?"

Riku flared up instantly. "It was a direct order, Roxas," he said, struggling to keep what remaining hold he had on his raging temper. "You don't turn down orders from one of the Commanders. You _can't_."

"You still could have done something—"

"Like what? Auron flat out told me first thing that he'd be sending one of his messenger yes-men within the week if I planned on doing anything to stop it by refusing the assignment! The Organization already knows that it's the wrong thing to do, Roxas! Get it through your head—it wasn't my choice to do this!"

"You're _here_, aren't you? That was your choice!" Roxas yelled, knowing and hating how weak his argument sounded, but too angry at the silver haired man and the Organization XIII and everything else to care. Sora's words as he left—_Don't you even try and take this out on Riku, he doesn't have anything to do with it_—echoed in his mind, and he was in just enough of a state of mind to consciously lower his voice so his brother wouldn't hear. "You knew when you came that Sora would choose to go back right away—if you had refused, at least he would have been given a few more days, more than he's getting now, at least!"

"Three days at most! Four, if he was lucky! It doesn't take long for Auron to dispatch somebody, Roxas, and they wouldn't have even given him time to get his bearings before they whooshed him back into the war! You didn't join the military, Roxas; you have no idea what it's like, and until you do don't act as if you know they way everything works!"

Roxas was already opening his mouth to retort when he saw Riku's eyes widen and then a strong hand pulling on his shoulder roughly. Sora's gaze was murderous, his eyes a dark sapphire. The hand on Roxas' shoulders tightened considerably as Sora stared him down, his expression telling everything Sora wanted to say and more.

* * *

The car ride back across the city to the Organization was for the large part silent, with Riku concentrating on driving and Sora simply gazing out the window as Traverse Town passed by. The name was misleading; Traverse Town wasn't anything but a city, and a populous one at that.

As they neared the street that would lead them directly to the main headquarters of the Organization, Sora asked quietly, "How are things over there?"

"The same as when you left, really," Riku replied, turning left. "There's a new group working on recruiting more people from the west and south for the regular army, but we don't know how successful it'll be."

"Casualty rates have gone up?"

Riku shook his head. "They're the same, but Auron and Cid want to lower the Organization to militia ratio around some of the smaller areas; they're a lot higher in our favor than they should be."

Sora made a sound of understanding as Riku pulled up to the security gate and rolled down his window. Reaching over to pull two cards from the identity check slot, he handed one over to Sora. They peeled off the clear plastic tape that covered each card, and then firmly pressed their thumb against the plain white surface. Then Riku took Sora's card back, careful not to touch it where an imprint could be made, and stuck them back in a different slot, waiting for the thumbprints to be verified by the security computer.

A few moments later, the gate opened. Riku drove through slowly, waiting until the gate closed behind them before speeding up and leading the car into the Organization garage. The cars there were loaned out on basis of assignments to the Organization members.

Parking in the designated space, Riku shut the car off and opened the door. Sora did the same to his right, and stepped out. The silver haired-man pulled the single suitcase Sora had brought with him out of the trunk, and then the two of them made their way through the garage and up into the actual building.

"Riku, did they happen to tell you where I was rooming?" Upon his friend's negative, he said lightly, "Should've guessed."

"Auron probably wanted for you to talk to him first."

"Probably," Sora agreed. "I can carry my own suitcase, though, Riku."

Riku shrugged and handed the luggage over. When they reached Auron's office, the Commander called them in.

Entering, Riku stood by the doorway, knowing that there really wasn't anything important that Auron had to say to him and waited to be let go. Sure enough, the dismissal came a few seconds later, and Riku left to return back to the work MORNING STAR had left him.

He stopped by his room momentarily to collect the Twilight Town and recruit information he had taken from the workroom the day before. When he entered the room, Leon was already there, typing away. The stormy eyed man looked up and gave him a curt nod, as stoic as ever, then returned to his work.

Riku suppressed an irritated sigh—the least he could do was say hello—before sitting down across from Leon, and setting up the holo-screen. There was a tense pause, and then:

"Leonhart."

"Okada."

"I…apologize. For yesterday."

Leon glanced up. Riku met his gaze squarely, his green-blue eyes determinedly clear. He continued, "I won't deny that given the choice, I wouldn't be here. Just…" he broke up and shifted his gaze away, the strands of hair that escaped his braid framing his face as he frowned. He was silent for a moment, then let out a huff and muttered, "Well, you get the idea." Uncrossing his arms, he gave Leon a slight glare, daring him to say anything, before starting in on his work.

Leon watched his partner silently for a moment as Riku decidedly ignored him, and then said slowly (and somewhat deliberately, though Leon was loathe to admit it), "…whatever."

The tall brunet saw Riku stiffen in anger, and with a small, sarcastic smirk on his face, Leon returned to the realm of his computer screen. _Don't say stuff you don't mean, Okada. _

Silence reigned.

* * *

"Selphie, can you get me more bandages from the storage cabinets?" A red-haired girl called quietly as to not disturb the man in the bed next to her. Selphie nodded, and left to grab the requested swathing.

"Here," she said, handing it over. The girl gave her a grateful smile and began to unroll the bindings, her small hands covered in clear, skintight gloves.

"My shift doesn't end for another ten minutes, you can go wait for me in the main hall, if you want," she offered, her blue eyes serious as she began to wrap the gauze around a deep wound on her patient's forearm. Selphie watched the shallow but steady breathing of the man—he, like all of the invalids in this hall, had been placed under a drugged sleep to ease pain and promote the effectiveness of the healing magic.

"It's fine," Selphie said softly. "This place makes the world seem more real, somehow." Her companion nodded as she continued, "I almost wish I could work here, but I don't have time, and I know how hard it is. I don't know if I could take it."

Blue eyes were understanding as the bandage was trimmed and a slight amount of healing magic applied, enough to speed the process without affecting any of the man's internal systems. "Not many people can, it's why we're short of staff right now."

"Can't you do anything about it?"

A pause, and then Kairi said, "Miss Gainsborough said something about that we were getting a new healer, a good one, but…" She shrugged. "We can't force people to heal."

Selphie thought about this before asking, "But that doesn't make it any easier when…" she gestured to the beds, and Kairi's eyes dimmed as they both had the same thought. _Cause of Death: Unknown. _

"No. It doesn't."

* * *

Alright, hit that review button now please. Think of it this way--a little bit of pain on your part to leave a message gets me much more motivated, and the update will come that much quicker. So...review? Please? Black holes are unfriendly.

**next chapter: all the worst qualities.** Triangular discussions, and truth is allowed to be just that obvious.


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